Recycle clothes and shoes to help save on something new
H&M, M&S, Schuh, John Lewis, River Island and George at Asda all have schemes that let you swap old clothes or shoes for vouchers.
It’s a great way to clear the clutter and save money at the same time. Plus it’s far better for items to go to charity or get recycled than adding to landfill.
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H&M clothes recycling scheme (£5 voucher)
If you’re a member of H&M’s loyalty programme you can donate any bag of old clothes or unwanted garments into an H&M shop and you’ll get 20 points and a £5 voucher to spend as part of the H&M Garment Collection programme.
You’ll get a voucher per drop off – so if you bring in several bags staff will probably process it as one transaction. But in theory, you could split the bags and drop them off at different times for more vouchers. However, there is a £25 minimum spend with each voucher.
So what can be in the bag? Well you don’t need to have any H&M products to get the voucher. And you can also donate any kind of textile, whether its curtains or knickers (as long as they’re clean and dry) as the fabrics are all recycled.
M&S and Oxfam’s Shwopping Clothes Exchange (£5 voucher)
Hand over your old gear at an Oxfam and you’ll also get a £5 voucher to spend on clothes in Marks and Spencer.
One item must be labelled M&S, and you can only use the voucher in the same calendar month. There’s a minimum £35 spend and it’s only valid on clothing, home or beauty.
I asked in a store a while ago if you can use the voucher with other offers and the checkout woman said she’d seen the vouchers be used with Sparks offers such as 20% off everything. So it’s worth grabbing one of these to use when those deals come around.
You can find your nearest Oxfam and read the full terms and condition of the Oxfam Clothes Exchange.
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River Island x ReSkinned (£5 voucher)
This scheme requires you to send at least three items via courier to Reskinned. In return you’ll get a £5 voucher to use on purchases over £40 at River Island stores. They’re only valid for one month from issue, so don’t forget to use them.
Schuh “Sell Your Soles” scheme (£5 voucher)
You can get a £5 voucher to use at Schuh for every pair of shoes you donate. The shoes are donated to Recyclatex with around 98% of materials reused.
You can use your voucher online or in-store on full price items over £25.
John Lewis “Fashion Cycle” (£5 voucher)
Take five items of clothing into any John Lewis store as part of their FashionCycle scheme and you’ll get £5 off Fashion Rental, with a minimum spend of £50. They’ll accept shirts, t-shirts, jumpers, cardigans, jackets, coats, shorts, trousers, jeans, childrenswear, dresses, jumpsuits, skirts and school uniform.
You need to be a member of the free My John Lewis scheme and note that the voucher is only redeemable during the month.
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George (10% off)
You can box or bag up 10 or more unwanted clothes and textiles and donate them at Asda. In exchange, you’ll get a 10% off code to use at George .com.
There are limits on the parcel size (50cm x 30cm x 30cm) and it can’t weigh more than 10kg. You’ll need to check if your local store is participating.
Donate to Cancer Research UK via TK Maxx (no voucher)
You can take a bag of unwanted clothes to TK Maxx who will pass it on to Cancer Research to sell or recycle. Cancer Research UK will keep all the proceeds.
Donate to Zara (no voucher)
Zara will also take unwanted clothes that will be donated to those in need or sold by charitable organisations to raise funds. There’s no voucher for you if you do this.
Do any of these guys accept clothes that are torn/damaged/etc.?
How long do the schemes run for?
Hi! I have a lots of kids and adult clothes, and also some books and new plates.
I’m wondering where or how I can sell them for cash?thank you
Hi can you include shoes in the scheme.
Say an item is £50’s plus. Would l be able to use 2 vouchers on the one item or is it just 1 voucher per item or spend as long as it is over £25?
I think it’s just once per transaction
In H&M you can only use one voucher at a time and also you have to spend £25 to get your £5 off
Can I take my old clothers which most are new to the new look in sheerness high street in Kent for money back of clothers
I’d say it’s worth just calling them up first, or popping in next time you’re in town just to check. But it should be running until at least 31st March according to the website.
Is there a maximum number of vouchers a store can give per person?
Do the vouchers have to be used in a time frame ?
2 per person
think its two years and can be used online
just wondered what size bag would you use. A standard Tesco/supermarket carrier bag?
Yes I think that would be ok.
Hello,
Can other similar textiles be recycled like shoes and belts?
Yes for H&M, not sure about M&S
Can the vouchers be used for H&M home or only for clothes?
Hmm, don’t know. If you find out do let me know
How many items do you take to H&I’m for a voucher
Thankyou
Can you use multiple £5 H&M vouchers for one shop?
I don’t think so – though you can always split the shop in two if you’ve more than one item.
Hi I got few man woman kids clothes and other items how to sell it to H&m?
To be honest with Oxfam, its better using the tag a bag scheme. You get nectar points whenever anything sells, and they can be used for anything more or less and dont have a time limit.
I never knew this was a thing! I’ve seen boxes where you can deposit your old clothes in my local H&M, but I never knew you could get a voucher for it! I’ve seen something similar in River Island too though I don’t know if you get a voucher for it.
Hi, when you take a bag of recyclable clothes in to H&M how many vouchers can a person get up to?. Thanks
do you get £5 for every item of clothing or like a bag full?
Just a standard bag full for each voucher
For H&M vouchers is this a standard old plastic carrier bag size? Can it be mixed clothing – t shirts, jumpers, jeans, hats? Is the quality/standard of the clothing important?
You can drop off your unwanted garments – no matter what brand and what condition – in all H&M stores across the globe.